Overeaters Anonymous
 

Hey Everyone,

For the past few months I have been debating going to OA. I have looked up dates and times and convince myself all week long and then when Friday comes to go I am suddenly too busy or too scared to go.

Has anyone been to an OA meeting? What are your thoughts and how can I get myself to go. I think I should go because I obsess over where food is located at work and at home...I've done some embarrassing things to get food...so I think it might be something to look in.

Thoughts and opinions please?!:confused:

My mom said she used to go to the meetings. She was thinking of rejoining and asking me to go with her. I said sure but so far both of us haven't gone. I am curious myself. I am all for seeking help to overcome but I am starting to think of just finding a counselor perhaps that specialize in food addictions but I am curious to see other people's opinions on OA.

Several of my friends here in Boston are OA members, and find it quite valuable.

You do have to be able to face a group, and do the 12 steps, that's not easy, but it is an amazing tool.friends I know who have found it don't appear over weight, they have been going for years, and find it helps them with a disorder (similarly, I have friends in AA who never drink, I didn't know them "before", but love them now).

I've been in and out of OA. I love using FitDay, but always felt guilty about it when trying to live by the OA program. They kind of look down on counting calories (at least the impression I got). Their main idea is: 3 meals a day, nothing in between. They say they don't endorse any food plan, simply the idea of abstaining from compulsive overeating. I just never felt like my system of counting calories using FitDay fit in. It is a great support group/network and can really work for a lot of people. You just have to decide for yourself, of course.

I didn't realize OA discourages counting calories. I find it indispensable to my diet. But I have heard that OA sets you up with 'sponsors' (the way AA does) so that if you find yourself in a crisis about some food issue, you can consult with that person. I think this would be invaluable.

I have friends who diet (one is on a diet now) but I don't think they would like to be the 'support person' for my diet. In a friend situations, it can turn into a 'scolding mom' situation, a 'judgmental observer' situation, an argumentative situation, or a competition. None of those seems to work for me. An OA sponsor would definitely have to have some good support skllls.

I used to think I had an "over eating" problem, but the more I studied myself the more I came to realize that many of my symptoms are caused by what I've eaten, specifically the carb crash. I know that sounds strange, but I find that if I keep away from grains in the morning I don't really get that "I have to eat something right NOW" feeling throughout the day. So while I don't doubt that many people can benefit from the OA program, for some of us over eating might actually be more of a chemical or biological thing than it is a mental/emotional thing. Just a thought.

A bowl of hot oatmeal (steel cut) in the morning does it for me! I'm not hungry at all until early afternoon. However, it is all carbs!

I haven't tried it but I don't like the idea of any program telling me I'm diseased and that I have no control over myself so I probably wouldn't join any program like this.